Effects of electrical stimulation on the bone tissue in rats with spinal cord injury

Abstract

Osteoporosis is a usual complication after spinal cord injury. The denervation deriving from that injury alters the activity of cells in the bone tissue, increasing the number of osteoclasts that are responsible for the absorption of bone matrix and electrical stimulation aims to reduce that loss through the piezoelectric effect. The study aims to examine the effectiveness of a resource in the prevention of osteoporosis induced by spinal cord injury. Two groups of animals will be undergone to a surgery inducing the spinal cord injury and will be treated through electrical stimulation of low intensity (frequency of 1.5 MHz, 1:4 cycle of work, 30 mW/cm2 intensity) in 12 sessions of twenty minutes, three times a week, from day 1 post-surgery. After treatment, the animals will be killed by infusion transcardíaca, and bones and marrow will be removed. The bones will be analyzed by densitometry and testing of bending, and the marrow by histological analysis to confirm the injury. (AU)